Latest Insights in the Evolving Digital World

Steel Forging in Action

Steel forgings are one of the main methods used to create steel pats of all kinds. In steel forging, raw iron is slowly converted into steel over a period of several hours and even days. There are a variety of steel forgings methods, but one of the most common methods is the heating and tempering method that is used to create many different varieties and shapes of steel. I had the chance to view the steel forging process recently, and I was amazed at the amount of work and technology that goes into creating basic sheet metal.

Steel is refined from raw iron scrap metal. A large magnet picks up the metal and carries it into a huge scrap bucket that carries the metal and dumps it into a furnace. The bucket can hold about 26 tons of raw iron scrap metal. The furnace can hold two bucket’s worth of metal. The furnace heats the metal to about 3000 degrees Fahrenheit to melt the metal and separate any impurities. Most of these furnaces are heated through electric currents and are known as electric arc furnaces.

In the furnace, the steel forging factory adds different metals and chemical additives to create different varieties of steel. Common materials added to the iron include chromium, aluminum, nickel, carbon, and manganese. It takes about 4 hours to melt the metal to a smooth and liquid state.

The hot metal is poured into a ladle, which carries the metal to an ingot mold. The ladle pours the melted metal into the mold. The metal solidifies in about 4 hours. The metal is then removed from the mold and carried over to a forging press, which shapes the metal into a large steel slab. After shaping, the metal is heated again to provide additional strength. After the final cooling, the metal is shipped to another factory for further shaping and thinning.